Working Paper 2 of the E-Business and Transport Project: E-BUSINESS TRENDS

Abstract

The second Working Paper for the impacts of e-business on transport project, reports on a literature and document search for trends and developments in e-business, which may have significant transport impacts. E-business is defined as including e-commerce, either between Businesses to Business [B2B] or Business to Customers [B2C], and the adoption of electronic technology within businesses.
We suggest that growth in e-business stems from the combined existence of: market demand; suitable enabling technology; and skills/familiarity in management/users/ industry/government. Thus, we consider:
Internet Readiness: for example, 46% of Australian adults had accessed the Internet [May, 2000]; 37% of businesses had Internet access as did 88% of government organisations [June 1999]. Training will be needed for the IT professions and the community at large, but the more urgent need is for e-business management skills.
The Market: for e-business in terms of: products, including the move of established retailers into e-business, and increases plus changes in the services offered by intermediaries; place or channels such as electronic portals as new market places for industry/consumers and e-fulfilment, the new logistics practices required by e-business; regional and international promotion to, and then the price of e-business, security for business and safety for consumers.
Technology: in four categories of application: Standardisation, for interoperability of both hardware and software; Ease of use with new languages such as XML offering wider markets and bandwidth limitations slowing uptake; New technologies such as electronic agents to help users sift unwieldy amounts of information to find products, services, and even each other; and finally Security devices such as biometric recognition.
Applications are discussed in relation to:
B2B: National and global sourcing, e-procurement is set to boom; Supply chain management, tailoring orders to specifically service customers; Regional industries and SMEs entering the market.
B2C: is divided into activities which require physical travel or transfer of goods such as shopping and travel/tourism; then virtual services such as entertainment/infotainment, online banking and trading, then health and education.
We conclude with a tabulation of the estimated significance of the developments discussed for e-business in the short-term 2001-2005 and medium-term 2006-2010.

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